Haiti: European Commission recommends “immediate and strong ethical sanctions” against three presidential advisers implicated in corruption scandal

Press release from the Ensemble Contre la Corruption (Ecc) group （1）

Submitted to AlterPresse on July 30, 2024

1. Over the past week, a scandal has broken out at the highest levels of power in the country involving three (3) members of the Presidential Transition Council, with clear information of acts akin to corruption, punishable under Haitian legislation.

2. Anti-corruption groups believe they have a responsibility to make

He learned about the scandal through the media and social networks and published the opinions of his friends, which tarnished the image of the Presidential Council as an institution, tarnished all the members that make up it and undermined the trust between the presidential institution and the people.

3. This numerous corruption scandal has dealt a fatal blow to public integrity and the accountability of public authorities that have engaged the Haitian nation with the international community through the United Nations Convention against Corruption.

4. It must be emphasized that this corruption scandal has once again brought serious consequences to the entire country:

I – Provide the entire public service with the worst possible example of public morality and integrity;

ii – by placing corrupt political sectors in the highest judicial body of the country, it is possible to challenge the consensus formula in the Agreement of April 3, 2024;

iii- may demonstrate the willingness of the selected advisor-president to seek to plunder the resources of the BNC, the oldest commercial bank in the country and an integral part of the common interests of all Haitians;

iv- Open the way for the complete loss of Haiti’s sovereignty.

5. The ECC is pleased that the President of the Board of Directors of the BNC has decided to refer the matter to public opinion and to refer it to the Anti-Corruption Unit (ULCC). At this point, the European Commission wishes to clarify that the ULCC is not a repressive jurisdiction, but an autonomous administrative entity whose objectives are to fight corruption and its manifestations in public administration, to protect public property, to promote transparency in public administration and to promote ethical public life, and it is its duty to conduct administrative investigations and refer cases to justice. And only then will the question arise, knowing in which jurisdiction the splashed advisor-president will be held accountable.

However, the ECC believes that for the sake of peace in the Transitional Presidential Council, strong ethical sanctions must be immediately imposed on the presidential advisers affected by this scandal. Therefore, the Anti-Corruption Coalition (ECC) makes the following recommendations:

I. For the CPT members whose names are not mentioned in this corruption scandal, isolate those who are implicated in all decisions of the state until appropriate sanctions are taken against the actors in this scandal (if they were unethical) to examine themselves.

ii- The sectors they represent must immediately and completely withdraw from the Portuguese Communist Party and replace them with persons worthy of the highest posts in the State, while awaiting the judicial investigations that will be carried out in due course; since politics is largely a question of perception, members of the Portuguese Communist Party cannot be suspected of having participated in corrupt practices.

Signed at Port-au-Prince on 30 July 2024

Rosie Auguste Dussene

president

Edward L. Paul

Administrative Secretary